why Tefillin
January 22, 2010
On January 21, 2010, a US Airways flight from La Guardia Airport in New York bound for Louisville, Kentucky was diverted to Philadelphia after a 17 year old boy was seen putting on tefillin. The crew panicked and aborted the flight amid unfounded fears of a terrorist bomb. The flight attendant, unaware of the religious ritual, notified the pilot of a potential problem when the teen put one of the boxes on his head.
why tefillin
All the 15 passengers and 3 crew members on the US Airways Express Flight 3709 were safely evacuated after the sudden landing. The plane was quarantined on the runway and the boy, his 16 year old sister who was traveling with him, and the other passengers were questioned. The teen was described by a Philadelphia police lieutenant as being “very cooperative,” and “more alarmed than we were.”
Tefillin are two small black boxes with black straps attached to them; Jewish men are required to place one box on their head and tie the other one on their arm each weekday morning. Tefillin, also called phylacteries contain scrolls of parchment inscribed with verses from the Torah, with leather straps dyed black on one side.
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